I guess it depends on how much you want to gain. A real cycle, based around test, would be your best bet for gaining muscle. With diet and estrogen control, you can do this while staying lean and not getting overly bloated. IMO, there is no reason to gain so much fluid that you look like you have a gut and you have awful moon face. Plus, its more work on the heart. I've gotten that way in the past, and it is not comfortable. Hard to tie my shoes. Walking up a flight of stairs would get me out of breath. Since those days, I have dialed back the bloating. But remember, when your goal is to gain muscle, some additional fluid will help your strength and recovery. If i go up 8-10 lbs, I look not quite as hard/defined, but I tend to hold a lot of fluid in the muscle. My abbs can get washed out some but the muscle bellies look a lot more round, This is while using a mild AI and controling sodium

If you were to run something like anavar, you can stay harder looking but don't expect as great of gains. You may be able to build a few lbs, but in the long run, you aren't going to build a large physiqie